Zombieland: Double Tap
| starring = | narrator = Jesse Eisenberg | music = David Sardy | cinematography = Chung Chung-hoon | editing = Dirk Westervelt | production companies = | distributor = Sony Pictures Releasing | released = | runtime = 99 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = $42–48 million | gross = $120.5 million }} Zombieland: Double Tap is a 2019 American zombie comedy film directed by Ruben Fleischer and written by Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and David Callaham. A sequel to Zombieland (2009), it stars Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Abigail Breslin, and Emma Stone reprising their roles from the first film, alongside new cast members Rosario Dawson, Zoey Deutch, Avan Jogia, Luke Wilson, and Thomas Middleditch. Talk of a Zombieland sequel began before the release of the first installment, with Reese and Wernick suggesting ideas and the cast voicing their desire to make a second film. However, the project languished in development hell for several years before finally being confirmed in July 2018. The four main stars and Fleischer all signed on that month, while additional cast members, including Dawson and Wilson, joined in early 2019. Filming took place from January to March 2019. Zombieland: Double Tap was released in the United States on October 18, 2019, by Sony Pictures Releasing under its Columbia Pictures label. It received mixed reviews from critics and has grossed $120.5 million worldwide. Plot Ten years after the events of the first film, survivors Tallahassee, Columbus, Wichita, and Little Rock have become experts in identifying and disposing of various zombies and set up their new home in the abandoned White House. Columbus decides to propose to Wichita using the Hope Diamond, while Tallahassee rebuffs Little Rock's hopes of starting her own family. The next morning, Tallahassee finds a note from Wichita and Little Rock, who have left due to Little Rock feeling Tallahassee still treats her like a child and Wichita's fear she is too attached to Columbus. A month later, while exploring a mall, Columbus is startled by a ditzy blonde named Madison, who has survived Zombieland alone since she was fourteen inside the freezer of a Pinkberry. Madison quickly annoys Tallahassee, but Columbus invites her back to the White House, where she has sex with him. Returning and discovering Columbus has slept with Madison, Wichita explains that Little Rock has left for Graceland with a pacifist from Berkeley, and informs the group of more agile and durable "super zombies". Fearing for Little Rock's safety, the group heads toward Graceland in a rundown minivan. On the road, the group tries to commandeer a luxury RV since Columbus has a strict "no clown" policy that prevents them from getting in an ice-cream truck. As they enter the RV the alarm goes off, and zombies attack. Methodically fighting back as a team, they encounter one of the super-zombies that takes multiple gunshots to kill, leading Columbus to nickname it the "T-800" after the Terminator franchise. Madison shows signs of "zombification", forcing Columbus to lead her into the forest to shoot her. The group finds "the Beast", Tallahassee's modified presidential limousine stolen by Little Rock, at an Elvis-themed motel run by Nevada, who reveals Little Rock took another vehicle toward Babylon, a hippie commune. Bonding over their love of Elvis, Nevada and Tallahassee spend the night together. The group awakens to find the Beast being crushed by a monster truck driven by Albuquerque and Flagstaff, who strongly resemble Tallahassee and Columbus. Super zombies arrive, and Albuquerque explains they have turned back from their journey west due to hordes of super zombies moving east. Facing the super zombies alone, Albuquerque and Flagstaff are bitten, turn into zombies, and are both killed. Heading out, the group finds Madison, alive and driving the clown-themed ice-cream truck. Rejoining the group, she explains that her nut allergy caused symptoms similar to zombification when Columbus spared her in the forest. The group arrives at Babylon, gives up their weapons, and find Little Rock. A satisfied Tallahassee departs, only to find a horde of super zombies attracted by the commune's fireworks and runs back to warn the group. Left without guns, Tallahassee devises a plan to kill the zombies with exploding biodiesel and then have commune members armed with barricade shields corral the stragglers off of a skyscraper with Tallahassee himself as the bait. The zombie horde is more massive than expected, and the group is surrounded and almost overwhelmed. Luckily, Nevada arrives in Albuquerque's monster truck, rescuing the group, although the vehicle soon rolls over. Escaping upstairs, the survivors corral the zombies off the roof. Tallahassee uses a construction crane hook to dangle just out of reach, but the last two zombies seize his leg as they fall, and Little Rock shoots them with a pistol given to her earlier by Tallahassee, rescuing him. The two reconcile, and Wichita accepts Columbus' proposal of marriage. Little Rock breaks up with Berkeley, who hooks up with Madison; they stay behind as the group, joined by Nevada, leave Babylon. Columbus remarks that they have finally found their home in each other. In a mid-credits scene, Bill Murray witnesses the start of the zombie outbreak ten years earlier while promoting a [[Garfield: The Movie|third Garfield film]], before making his escape while killing multiple zombies. In a post-credits scene, Murray is shown earlier practicing coughing up a hairball as a joke in his interview. Cast * Woody Harrelson as Tallahassee, Columbus' trusted partner. * Jesse Eisenberg as Columbus, who survives thanks to a strict set of rules. * Emma Stone as Wichita, a hardened survivor who is reluctant to settle down with Columbus. * Abigail Breslin as Little Rock, Wichita's rebellious younger sister. * Rosario Dawson as Nevada, owner of an Elvis-themed motel. * Zoey Deutch as Madison, a dumb blonde. * Avan Jogia as Berkeley, a pacifist, whom Little Rock picks up. * Luke Wilson as Albuquerque, Flagstaff's partner whose personality mirrors Tallahassee. * Thomas Middleditch as Flagstaff, Albuquerque's partner who has his own set of commandments for survival. In addition, Bill Murray reprises his role from the first film as a fictionalized version of himself. Entertainment reporters Al Roker, Grace Randolph, Josh Horowitz and Lili Estefan cameo as fictionalized versions of themselves. Production Development Due to Zombieland success, writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick soon planned a possible sequel, with many more ideas they wanted to explore. "We would love it, and everybody involved creatively wants to do another one," said Wernick. "Woody Harrelson came up to us after the final cut of the last scene and gave us a hug and said, 'I've never wanted to do a sequel in the previous movies I've done until this one.'" Wernick said he planned to have Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin star again with Ruben Fleischer returning as the director and that the writers had "tons of new ideas swimming in their heads." Additionally, they wanted to make the comedy into an enduring franchise. "We would love to do several sequels," stated Wernick. "We would love to also see it on television. It would make a wonderful TV series." From this, they wrote a TV pilot, starring a different cast, released in April 2013 on Lovefilm and Amazon Video. Reese and Wernick admitted they were not planning on an immediate sequel, due to being heavily involved with other writing projects. By November 2009, the original cast and director were all set to return, with Fleischer enthusiastic about the idea of doing the sequel in 3D. Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg confirmed in February 2010 their return for the second installment of the series. In 2010, Fleischer stated that he was working on the screenplay and the creators had begun searching for another "superstar cameo." In July 2011, Jesse Eisenberg said that he was "not sure what's happening" with the sequel but that the writers were working on a script for Zombieland 2. Eisenberg expressed concern that a sequel would no longer be "relevant." Woody Harrelson said that he was also hesitant to do a sequel, saying that "It's one thing to do it when it came out real good and it made a lot of people laugh, but then do a sequel? I don't know. I don't feel like a sequels guy." In February 2016, Reese and Wernick were announced to be writing the sequel. In August 2016, Reese and Wernick confirmed that they were working on Zombieland 2 and meeting with Woody Harrelson to discuss the film, while stating "all the cast is pretty excited." In March 2017, it was revealed that the script for Zombieland 2 had been completed, with Wernick and Reese stating: }} In May 2018, Woody Harrelson confirmed Zombieland 2 would probably happen. Pre-production On July 13, 2018, Zombieland: Double Tap was officially greenlit by Sony Pictures. Ruben Fleischer would return to direct while Eisenberg, Harrelson, Stone and Breslin had finally all signed on to reprise their roles. Sanford Panitch, president of Columbia Pictures, declared in a press release: }} In November 2018, Zoey Deutch and Avan Jogia joined the cast. In December 2018, it was confirmed that Bill Murray would return for the sequel, once again playing a fictionalized version of himself. In January 2019, Rosario Dawson joined the cast of the film. Thomas Middleditch and Luke Wilson joined in February. Filming Filming began on January 19, 2019, in Atlanta, Georgia and primary production finished on March 15, 2019. Release The film was released in the United States on October 18, 2019. Worldwide, Sony spent about $60 million promoting the film. Home media Zombieland: Double Tap is scheduled to be released on Digital HD on December 24, 2019 and on DVD, Blu-ray, and Ultra HD Blu-ray on January 21, 2020. Reception Box office , Zombieland: Double Tap has grossed $72.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $47.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $120.5 million. In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, and was projected to gross $25–30 million from 3,468 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $10.2 million on its first day, including $2.85 million from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $26.8 million, finishing third behind Maleficent and Joker. It then dropped 56% in its second weekend to $11.8 million, finishing fourth, and made $7.4 million in its third weekend, finishing sixth. Critical response On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 68% based on 224 reviews, with an average rating of 6.17/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Zombieland: Double Tap makes up for a lack of fresh brains with an enjoyable reunion that recaptures the spirit of the original and adds a few fun twists." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 56 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, down from the "A-" received by the first film, while those at PostTrak gave it four out of five stars and a 64% "definite recommend". Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times praised the performances, saying "They're all terrific, but Emma Stone in particular kills with a sharply honed, funny and endearing performance as the battle-tested and cynical Wichita, who is fearless when it comes to taking on zombies, but terrified when it comes to fully committing to a human connection." Simon Thompson at IGN also praises the performances, writing: "Zombieland: Double Tap is a riot, and a lot of that is due to Zoey Deutch and her character, Madison. While it doesn't quite achieve classic status in its own right, when it comes to sequels that do the original film justice, it is up there. It's worth the wait, your time and your money." Kate Erbland of IndieWire gave the film a "C+", saying: "Zombieland: Double Tap still finds space for big laughs (the pairing of Eisenberg and Harrelson remains nutty and fun), a welcome cameo in the credits, and a banger of a final battle in which the body count soars to ridiculous numbers. But, after 10 years of anticipation, it would have been nice to see a zombie movie with more on its mind than the same goofy undead routine." Peter Debruge of Variety wrote: "The zombies have evolved... the comedy not so much". Other media Video games A mobile game titled Zombieland: Double Tapper, was released along with the film featuring the characters. The film also has a twin-stick shooter video game titled Zombieland: Double Tap – Road Trip. Developed by High Voltage Software and published by GameMill Entertainment, it was released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Windows on October 15, 2019, three days before the film's US release. The Official Zombieland 2 Game|website=Zombieland Double Tap: Road Trip|language=en-US|access-date=2019-10-16}} Halloween Horror Nights Zombieland: Double Tap was featured as a scare zone at Universal Studios Florida Halloween Horror Nights 29. The zone included the modified presidential limousine "Beast" as seen in the film. References External links * * * * Category:2019 films Category:2019 horror films Category:2010s action comedy films Category:2010s adventure comedy films Category:2010s buddy comedy films Category:2010s comedy horror films Category:2010s monster movies Category:2010s road movies Category:2010s sequel films Category:American action comedy films Category:American action horror films Category:American comedy horror films Category:American adventure comedy films Category:American buddy comedy films Category:American films Category:American road movies Category:American sequel films Category:American zombie comedy films Category:Columbia Pictures films Category:Comedy road movies Category:English-language films Category:Films directed by Ruben Fleischer Category:Films set in 2019 Category:Films set in Memphis, Tennessee Category:Films set in Italy Category:Films set in Pisa Category:Films set in Washington, D.C. Category:Films set in the White House Category:Films shot in Atlanta Category:Films with screenplays by Paul Wernick Category:Films with screenplays by Rhett Reese Category:Horror adventure films Category:Parodies of horror Category:Post-apocalyptic films Category:Sequel films Category:Films adapted into video games Category:Hippie films